Blog

The Jasper House Haiti blog is designed to share stories, updates and testimonies that raise awareness, create dialogue and bring enlightenment to those seeking to become more involved in the advocacy and abolition of injustice.

Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development. It imposes large-scale costs on families, communities and economies. The world cannot afford to pay this price.” — Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

Jasper House Haiti deals with horrific stories of rape, abuse and sexual violence on a nearly daily basis. Stories of young girls whose history of being raped and molested began at ages as young as three and four by cousins, brothers, fathers, uncles and the like. Stories of fifteen-year-olds being coerced into sexual relationships with men thrice their senior in order to eat and attend school. It is difficult for us to wrap our heads around the amount of violence the precious women in our program have endured in their lifetime.

I am twenty one years old, and have a two year old son. When I was nineteen I became pregnant, but when my boyfriend discovered I was having a baby, he kicked me out and wanted nothing to do with me. My parents disowned me, I was totally alone. There is a man who sometimes helps me by giving me a little bit of money to feed myself and my son, but he beats me until there were cuts and bruises all over my body, and forces me to sleep with him even when I cry and say no...

— Felancia*, a young women in the Jasper House Haiti Education Program

This is just one excerpt of the countless stories of unjust treatment and abuse of the women who now find themselves in the care and protection of Jasper House Haiti. But this is the brutal reality for thousands of women in Haiti alone.

With these staggering facts, the hope of reversing these truths seem impossible. Why has this day received international recognition? The UN has outlined some important details:

Violence against women is a human rights violation.

Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women.

Violence against women impacts on, and impedes, progress in many areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security.

Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential.

Violence against women continues to be a global pandemic.

The underlying causes of this very complex and malevolent phenomenon is the result of the melange of harmful traditions, customs and cultural norms, gender stereotypes and inequality and patriarchal political, economic and social structures that manifest themselves in this most egregious violation of women’s human rights. This in turn creates and perpetuates an environment of impunity for perpetrators. Men typically indulge in violence as an exercise of their inherent power, entitlement, superiority and a sense of ownership of women by them. This is the mirror image of the sense of vulnerability, fear, shame, helplessness, resignation and dependence felt by women and girls who are victims and survivors of such violence.

So, in revelation of the overwhelming facts, what can be done about the menacing horror of violence against women that abounds worldwide?

Jasper House Haiti is fully committed to continuing our charge to restore, educate and empower women out of violence, exploitation and abuse. In addition to educating our women on the truths about the abuse many of them have experienced, we plan to also take the following actions over the next month:

- Visit local brothels to introduce the women who find themselves trapped in a lifestyle of prostitution and perpetual exploitation, to the realities of their situations and the hope they now have to start a new life through the work of Jasper House Haiti.

- Partner with other local Haitian based human rights organizations to create a stronger coalition for the protection and prevention of gender-based violence.

- Organize community meetings with the husbands, boyfriends and male head of households of the women in our program to educate them on gender-based violence and healthier forms of conflict resolution, and to establish a sense of accountability for the treatment of women.

- Work to develop a task force of local leaders and activist committed to identifying women trapped in abusive and exploitive situations, with solid contingency plans on how to extract women from said situations.

We believe that we can see a major decline, if not a near elimination of violence against women in our lifetime. However, it takes the support and unity of likeminded individuals who are willing to use their voice and power to stand up against such iniquitous acts.

We need your help. By raising, awareness and support of Jasper House Haiti, as well as becoming a finical partner, you are joining the fight to see justice served on behalf of women in Haiti who have experienced vehement oppression and cruelty.